Discover Personal Loans a Scam or Not?

Using a zero percent APR balance transfer card to move a few thousand dollars from a high interest card is a great way to save on interest if you’re in debt. However, doing that with say, $25,000, can sometimes be challenging in today’s economy, where credit limits just aren’t quite as generous as they once were. That is why many people end up turning to loans instead.

But are these loans predatory? Should you apply or take a pass?

Discover Financial Services personal loans seem to be pretty popular due to the powerful national brand they have and since they’ve made a concerted effort to cross sell this service to their existing cardmember base of over 60 million customers. That gives them a huge advantage over the corner bank since they can see if you have debt on your other cards at the credit bureau. Capital One Bank is another major player in this space for the same reasons.

As you can see above, the Discover personal loan application offers anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000. At the time of this review, the advertised interest rates ranged between 7.99% to 18.99% and you could a length of up to 84 months (7 years).

Still, you probably are better off getting a 0% intro offer from a credit card issuer. If you need to pay someone cash that doesn’t take credit cards, you could always use PayPal to send the money to them (Paypal is classified as a purchase typically).
Among numerous reviews posted on the forum, there were 2 in particular which claimed this loan offer from Discover to be a “scam” for the following reasons:

One guy said it because his loan wasn’t approved despite a good credit score.

Another guy said it because he was given an interest rate higher than the 7.99% even though he claimed to have a high score.

In a nutshell, both seemed to feel it was a bait ‘n switch however, I can assure you the Discover personal loans are definitely NOT a scam. Here’s why…

You may be surprised to hear that Discover and American Express have a lot in common, including the fact that both cater to those with excellent credit. In fact, many Discover cards are even more difficult to acquire than those from venerable American Express. In other words, they are quite choosy about who they approve. But this isn’t a bad thing… don’t you want a bank that manages their risk responsibly?

Remember the advertised range is 7.99% to 18.99%. Just because you don’t get the best rate, it absolutely doesn’t indicate that it’s fraudulent or a consumer scam. I have seen reviews from people with only average credit scores who still go a fairly good rate. For example a few years back this guy got $19k at 11.99% with a credit score in the low 700s.

Ultimately if the personal loan is a lower rate than what you’re currently paying on your debt, then it can make solid financial sense. Even if you get a rate 3% reduction in your average credit card rates that still means you are saving a significant amount of money, probably

Verdict?

For large debts, the personal loans from Discover can be a good way to pay down debt at a lower rate. The vast majority of reviews I have read from customers are positive, so don’t let a couple disgruntled people talk you out of them. You should apply if you don’t want to do balance transfers.

On the other hand, even if you have $25,000 in debt, you may still be able to take advantage of zero percent credit card deals if you split it between 2 or 3 different cards. Considering that there plenty of 0% transfer offers for 15 and 18 months in the market, this may be the way to go. My recommendation would be to setup automatic bill pay on those accounts once the balances are transferred to ensure you are consistently chipping away at the debt. And, as with all 0% balance transfers, it’s imperative to be disciplined and use the interest rate holiday to aggressively pay down the debt. If you just let it sit while running up new balances on your credit card you’ve only kicked the can down the road and made the situation worse, not better. Just remember that these types of expanded financial services that card issuers provide are not always in your best interest. At the end of the day they’re trying to sell or rent you money. Whether that’s something you truly need or just want in order to indulge in some extreme consumerism is only something you can decide. Just be sure you are fully informed of the pros and cons so that you don’t end up getting ‘serviced’ by the bank.

This post was written or last updated July 16, 2015

Comments

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

I had an 800 beacon score at time of application. I thought I would take advantage of the 6.99%. I have also been on my job for 10+ years and my income on the application was around 130k. All of my affordability ratios are well below the standard industry requirement to be considered healthy. I was offered 18.99% and I laughed. I only wanted to leverage some money before paying the loan off in full in a relatively short period of time. Didn’t even need the loan, just wanted to leverage at a low rate. I escalated my case to a “senior loan officer/reviewer.” I was then offered 16.99%. She could not explain why I was given a high rate. I told her I was a cookie cutter example of a good risk. Nonetheless, I put over 30k on a discover card each year and pay in full each month. I will be exploring other financial institutions going forward to do business with because Discover clearly doesn’t care or doesn’t have a clue. GO WITH YOUR LOCAL CREDIT UNION> THE HELL WITH THE BANKS!

I also received the “Debt Eraser loan” offer in the mail….but, after reading most of these comments (here, in THIS forum, and in another, separate forum on a different website), it appears that there have been a LOT more NEGATIVE experiences with this C.C. company than positive…..so, ‘guess I’ll decline the offer. I WAS seriously going to go for it….until I read all of these bad experiences. But…..at least, I DO want to thank everyone here for taking the time out of your day and making the effort to comment in sharing your experiences. Your input is appreciated. Thanks, ~D.

I applied for a 25K loan of a rate of 6.99-18.99%. My credit score is 780 and income is 100K. My outstanding debt is my mortgage and student loan, but I have more than enough to pay off my student loan in the bank. I wrongly assumed my “creditworthiness” would qualify me for the lower rates. they approved me for the loan at 14.99%. I told them no and they gave me 12.99%. I also declined that one. I asked if they could give me a scenario where someone would get the 6.99% and the person was unable to. Who on earth qualifies for the low rate?

Hi,
looking for some advice? was thinking of taking out the 5000 loan (need probably about 3000) to pay of debt with some higher interest rate cards…i can’t decide/figure out if this would be a good option or if it would make sense to switch to a card with zero interest for 16 months…and and stick with that card and/or once the 16 months is up, find another card with 0 interest again? my brain doesn’t work well with numbers and just know I don’t like paying the interest rate on the cards i currently have? any input is welcomed!

I’ve been very happy with Discover Card personal loans. I’ve had two loans through Discover, and both times, had no issues and interest rate was good. The last loan I had was for $25k, 5 years and I had a 8.49% rate. I do have a score of 825. Customer service personal I talked to were pleasant to talk to also.

These loans are awful, they advertise a good rate, but then when you sign up they give you a high interest rate, yes, lower than the credit card, but note a good rate at all.
I had a FICA score of 740, I thought I’d get a 7.99% rate which would be great, instead they offered a 16.99% which was lower to 14.99% with automatic payment from checking account.
So, I believe this Discovercard Personal Loan program is a SCAM!

I just applied for and received a loan from Discover for debt consolidation for $17000 and got an interest rate of 9.99% and all of it was over the phone. I didn’t need to send them any information. Two of the cards I am paying off had an interest rate of 24.99% so I am thrilled. You are not paying interest up front and there are no prepayment penalties. It was definitely worth the phone call for me!! Not a scam!

I have the same loan 10,000 at 15.99 for 60 months… monthly payments $246…and there taking $119 dollars of that towards interest each month ….so what do u mean ur not paying intrest up front…not sure what that means? new too all this….thanx ….oh and by time I pay all off I will have paid $4,700 in interest….ouuuch!!!

They want EVERYTHING – copies of paystubs, copy of your driver license & social security card, income tax information, they want to decompose your income so they know exactly how much comes from what sources – it’s a very invasive process – almost as bad as a home loan. Personally for the amount I was asking ($15k) I felt it was too invasive so I cancelled my application. I’ll use savings for my home improvement project and just repay myself instead.

We have been a Discover Card user since 1987. We have an outstanding credit history with them and our credit scores were 780. They ask for our tax returns for 2014 and when I refused to give them the information they immediately denied the loan request. The only info they needed should be on the credit report and what they already have on file at their Discover Data Base. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR TAX RETURN INFORMATION. I believe Discover will suffer from being attached to this company. We cancelled our cards with them because of the rudeness of the customer service agent. Sad thing is, I wish I had not called. I had been a satisfied customer until this ordeal. YES, I THINK IT IS A SCAM OF SORTS. I know how the loan process works as I have worked in the banking industry. I know how the debt to income ratio process comes into play. I also know that a 2014 tax portfolio is not necessary to acquire a small loan. Be Careful folks when using this loan company.

After reading the comments here, it appears people do not understand what a scam is. Of course Discover advertises their lowest offered interest rates – they certainly don’t advertise being willing to offer everyone that rate. You not being approved for the lowest available interest rate on a loan doesn’t make the loan a scam, regardless of your opinion of your credit worthiness.

Of all the credit card companies I have dealt with Discover is the best. Their customer service agents are knowledgeable and helpful and speak good English. I have a personal loan through them which I used to consolidate all of my credit card debt. My interest rate isn’t great at 12.99 but is lower than what I was paying on 2 of the 3 cards. My monthly payment is about $20 more than the what I was paying on the 3 cards combined but I now know that all of this debt will be paid off by a certain date or earlier. I’ve always been told that paying off debt with new debt is not the answer, but for me it is easier to make one payment. I have started paying extra each month and will probably have the 48 month loan paid off in 24 months and be completely free of credit card debt!!!!!!!

For me it was worth it. Even from my standpoint, although I have a credit score of well over 700, I can see where a bank would consider giving me a loan a risk. I’m a single mom, I make a pretty good income but I also have a house mortgage, car loan & had 3 revolving credit cards with high balances. About the only thing in my favor besides my income was that I’ve done a good job of juggling bills so that I always pay on time. I got approved, though. And it felt wonderful to pay off those credit cards with the high interest. And my monthly payment is a lot less than what I’ve been applying to those credit cards for years and I’ll have it paid off in 5 years. Forcing myself to stick to a budget has been tough…especially with teenagers…but it’s nice not having to do so much juggling & having less bills.

Excellent credit history…. 817 credit score….. Home owner…….full time student income 40k…. declined 15…….I just received the offer today…My financial status and Debt pretty consistent pass 5 yrs.…So my financial status was good enough at the time of the offer…….But not 5 days later……. WTF….Not even an 18.99%..offer….Declined….Now I have to wait 7 days to find out why…..

I applied for a $15,000.00 loan my Fica score of 740.
Was told at the time I was approved.
Had to send in Tax return for 2013 stated income in low $30,000.00 range.
Wanted loan to pay off high interest rate on loan received to rebuild garage.
Our on time bill paying is 100%.
To make a long story short after getting their hands on all our credit Info.
And our credit score taking a hit due to a hard inquiry and after 4 days of not hearing back from them I called to find out what was going on and was told we where not approved after all.
take what you will from what I have said here but as the saying goes if it looks to good to be true it probably is.

My father has been a Discover card member for several years (since Sears too, I believe). He needs a loan of $20k and applied online yesterday. His credit score is 784 but doesn’t carry much revolving debt, if any, as of two months ago. He had a revolving home equity line that he paid regularly. But he moved two months ago so the equity line was paid off. Can Discover see that he DID pay on a revolving account just very recently? The email he got after he applied said that they would make a decision “shortly.” Any ideas on what he can do to speed up the process – as one poster said he had his money in 48 hours…. Anyone? Thanks!

I recently pd. out a $10,000 loan I got from Discover Personal Loans. My rate was 9.99. I was able to pay off some higher interest credit cards. I found the employees there to be very helpful when I had a question. I pd. my loan off 14 months early.I would call them again, if I needed to. Thanks Discover!

$19,000 @ %11.99 with a 744 credit score and household income of $65,000. I was paying about 650 a month in credit card bills, now i will be paying about 480 and it will be paid off in 60 months. I asked the guy and there is no penalty for paying it off early, so I can still pay 650 on it and I’ll be done in less than 60 months. It is not a scam, it just might not be for everyone.

Got this offer. Tried to fill it online but upon submitting got error message that due to technical error application was not send. Thought ok I’m not doing this again coz i got sensitive info there. Next day got email from discover about them getting my application and to call them to finish process. Whatever that error was! So talking to the rep they offered me a 15.99 rate. My highest is like twelve right now and hoped for the 6.99. Was told thats not going to happen. Said forget it. She offered me a manager who went ahead to tell me my highest rate was 17.99 so they were helping. Guess who has 17.99? My husband. I am not a registered user of the card. Thought wow! Anything to reward loyal customers right. Just felt invaded. Declined it anyway. Someone will send me a zero for 18 months anyway. I can cushion myself with that as we clear.

I applied on line for a Discover loan for 24,000. I have been with them ever since they were part of Sears. It was approved and I was told to call a loan specialist to finish the process. He approved me for 6.99 with a fixed monthly payment for 48 months. The whole process took less than half and hour. The money was direct deposited within 48 hours. I was told that I can apply additional payment to the principal as long as I don’t split up the payment, meaning that whatever additional payment I make to the fixed monthly due will be applied directly to the principal. Excellent service, before and after. Highly recommended.

My father has been a Discover card member for several years (since Sears too, I believe). He needs a loan of $20k and applied online yesterday. His credit score is 784 but does not carry much revolving debt, if any, as of two months ago. He had a revolving home equity line that he paid regularly. But he moved two months ago so the equity line was paid off. Can Discover see that he DID pay on a revolving account just very recently? The email he got after he applied said that they would make a decision “shortly” but he hasn’t heard anything. Any ideas on what he can do to speed up the process – as you said, you had your money in 48 hours…. Thanks!

For the person who stated you have to be a US citizen to be approved, your wrong!!! My husband got approved and he is not a US citizen. And yes I do believe you have to be willing to walk away from the loan to get a better rate, remember they need your business you don’t need them. So if you are going to apply:

1. Go in with a plan
2. What is it that you want.
3. Loan amount & rate.
4. Time to pay it off.
5. Purpose of loan.
6. Ask questions, can I pay directly into the principal balance, Can I pay it off early without a penalty,
7. And always be willing to walk away if the loan is not for you.

Got the letter in the mail that said starting at 6.99, well at end after giving all our information they slap us with 17.99??? What the heck?? What happened to the 6.99?? Or do they just go thru and figure 17.99 is still lower then what you are paying now?? What a scam! Should be what they advertised regardless of what you are paying now!

This is a scam , after they told me I was approved like a fool we gave them my
Checking account number then they place me on hold and said oh you not approve
I try speak to a manager they said the same thing
So now I head to the news for this matter
But please don’t apply for this loan it’s truly a scam and not real

I just received this “invitation” in the mail today. Not until near the end of all the reading material did I see you have to have a minimum income of $25K, which immediately disqualifies me. I was going to call to see how rigid that rule was because after all, my FICO score is 801 and all they are doing is giving me money I already owe, which I have proven over the years I can handle. And, I only want $5K. But after reading all these comments I think I’ll pass. My income is low because it is from Social Security which I had to take early because of disabilities. And it sounds like they’ll try to pump up that 7.99% interest rate which I hadn’t realized they would do. I probably won’t be any better off than if I just keep the status quo. I am 69 years old and my income isn’t going to get any better. And, why do YOU want my e-mail address? I don’t want to be bothered.

I’ve been talking to them. Offered me 11.99%, ok BUT as I understand it yes you can pay it off early but you won’t save anything. Extra is applied to interest first. It’s NOT a mortgage, it’s more like a car loan. Rule of 78s loan. Anyone know this to be fact? If I can pay it off early and save interest ok, but adding more debt just to consolidate debt is stupid.

I used the personal loan to buy a $32k investment property, yielding $850 a month in rent. I got the other $7k from a credit card. When making investments like that, it is all about getting the funding, regardless at what rate, then you just pay it off early. I applied on Monda, and had $25k in my bank account by Friday at 11.99%. High rate? Sure. But making last payment next month, just over 40 months. But I will own a rental property outright. Then as soon as I get the offer again, I will take full advantage of it to buy another rental.

Did you save on interest paying off early is it all front loaded and built in? As I understand it that’s how discover works. Wouldn’t you be better off borrowing against one rental property if you really own it rather than do another 12% loan? Seems to me your credit should be stellar paying off a loan early and owning a rental. What aren’t you telling us?

I took advantage of the Discover personal loan and it’s the best thing I’ve done to help get rid of my debt. In fact, I’ve actually raised my credit score 64 points in the 7 months I’ve had my loan (from 706 to 770). I used it to pay off a very high card balance, a smaller balance, and a medical bill. In case you’re wondering, I was at 18.99% on my credit card and was lowered to about 16% on the Discover loan; not a huge jump, but on a very high balance like mine, it makes a difference. I took out a loan for $24,000. I pay $516 per month and will continue to do so for the next 5 years and 5 months. I will probably pay it off early, and there is no penalty to do that. I no longer have credit card debt and it feels great to have a credit limit of $25,000 but zero balance! I’ve saved a lot of money each month and as I said, my credit score is finally getting close to the 800+ it used to be.
It’s not for everyone, but is great for me!

Received a “Discover Card Personal Loan” letter in the mail. The left part of the envelope was ripped open making it appear someone tampered with the envelope is my belief as the edge was perforated almost too perfectly. Inside the language says all someone needs is the invitation number to take out a loan in your name. While I could be wrong, it sounds like this is a clever ploy to lure people in out of fear their identity was compromised. We are calling the postal service as well as the BBB if all facts align. To opt out they need your social security number. I don’t think so. Has this happened to anyone else? I can say for certain Discover the truth about these knuckleheads.

EXACT same thing just happened to me (received Jan. 27, 2014). Left side of the envelope very neatly sliced open. Of course, the first thing I think is that someone is trying to steal my identity… then again, why would someone who wanted to do that not simply take the whole envelope? I didn’t ask for Discover to send me this, and I would certainly not think anything amiss if I never saw it. Is it possible Discover is doing this themselves to get people to call?

Same thing happened to me. I received the letter in the mail yesterday (January 29th) and my mind immediately ran amuck thinking someone had taken my info and opened a loan in my name. Any result from the Postal Service or BBB? Has anyone tried contacting Discover directly?

Discover recently had a defect in a machine that was slicing the left edge. A rare mistake they’ve gotten fixed. Besides, all that invitation # gives access too is your name and address. No extra security risk than you’re own mother writing you. Also, they only need your name and address to opt you out. Besides, opting out is stupid since they’re by invitation only so if you opt out you can never get a loan in the future when you may need it. Also, the invitation says you can apply for $2500 to $25k and just lists the increments of $5k to give you an idea of what you’re payments will look like. Discover also is simple interest w/a set end date and cc’s are compounded interest w/no end so 18.99% at 7 years is better than 0% that will jump up higher than normal after a mere 2 years w/a balance transfer fee.

I took out a $5,000 Discover loan at a rate if 8%.
Monthly payments were $126 for 4 years.
After 2 years i paid it off in full.
Count me as a satisfied customer–how can I apply for a new loan through them??

Hi,
I saw your post about a $5,000 discover loan and had a question. Did they ask for income verification such as your W-2’s and or pay stubs?
Also was there any penalty fees or exit fees for paying off your loan early?

I responded to the Discover Card Personal Loan Mail Offer for $25,000 with APR as low as 6.99%. I gave the other Credit Card information to the Discover Card Personal Loan representative and stated that I did not want the loan unless I could pay off the other Card in full and it was lower than $25,000 and they lady told me I was approved. Discover Card did a Bait and Switch and opened a Credit card and sent Blank front Credit Cards and a partial payoff to the Credit Card I had provided with a huge Transfer Fee and now I have 2 Crediit Card Payments instead of one with a higher balance because of the BT Fee. I called to complain and each employee said they would follow up with called the Mortgage department. Each time I was forwarded to Discover Cards Fraud Department. One employee told me I applied by mail for a Credit Card and I said to send me proof and Discover Card said they could not do that and I said I know because you don’t have proof. This is called Bait and Switch does anyone know a law firm interested in a Class Action Lawsuit because I cannot be the first person Discover Card pulled this on.

Wow, what a disappointment Discover’s turned out to be! I have decades of good credit history and a FICO of 780+, own my own home, make a 6 figure income, and have a total of $11-$12k in debt, including my car loan.

I’ve always just tossed the Discover letters in the recycling bin, but I figured that 6.99 is better than the 8.99 rate on my credit card, so what the heck?

I was shocked to learn that my approval rate was 9.99! I feel like I’ve been baited into a pretty attractive offer that they make almost impossible to get. And, though they admit that my credit is strong, they can’t tell me why I didn’t get their best rate.

Overall I’d say that Discover is running a scam operation. My opinion of this company now is such that they will NEVER be receiving any business from me in the future.

Discover sent me an application, with an included invitation number. I filled out the application online and was declined. I called and asked the rep for the reason why and was advised that it was due to, “too many recent inquiries for store credit cards” — this *could* be because I applied for a TJMaxx card 3 days ago. LOL

My credit score is 774 — with a stellar history. I asked the rep to remove me from future mailings and invitations. She agreed. Following, I called and cancelled my Discover credit card.

No loyalty — it’s ALL a scam. I’ll never do business with Discover again — in any way. PERIOD.

You shouldn’t have closed your account. It could hurt your score in the long run. Stop applying for the damn store cards. With a 774 you will benefit more from a conventional credit card like the Discover card you canceled. You need to get a copy of your credit history and see why you only have a 774 score because you want to be 800+. Stop using “lol” it makes sound like an idiot.

Applied yesterday for $14.5K to considate two credit cards currently at 1.99% but in a few months they would have gone to 19.99%. They were very nice, asked a few questions got approved for the total amount at 6.99% for 4 years in less than 10 minutes. It is nice to finally put to bed this final debt and worry rolling over every 12-18 months. My credti score if 760 so I do not see as to why all these people had problems or were quoted much higher rate.

I asked for $12,000 to be paid directly to my credit cards (currently at 10.99%) and Discover offered me a 9.99% loan. My credit score is 770 and I make about $50K-$60K a year depending on bonuses and overtime. Mind you, I’ve been at the same company for more than a decade too. The agent from Discover could not even explain HOW to get to the 6.99% rate either.

Just called after filling out the application. The gentleman’s first question is what is your social security number? In the background you can hear lots laughing and other customer reps repeating customer information. Um, no, can I speak with your supervisor. He says yes but he will ask you the same question. Sure I will hold. After holding for 10 minutes, I decided to go with my gut and hung up. I filled out everything online so probably just got the hard inquiry on my credit report which I am upset about, but I did not feel comfortable further providing my information to this unprofessional company that answered the phone. In addition, the phone number they told me to call them at to confirm my loan is different than the phone they sent in the email to confirm. Way to build my trust Discover!

The total interest to be paid over the life of the loan is factored into the total amount so even if you pay off lets say a 5 year loan early, you will still pay the total amount of interest for the five years

This is not true. I took out a loan of 5K with an 11.99% interest rate. I paid off early in less than a year and did not have to pay any extra interest or penalty. And I do not believe I paid the total interest on the loan. If you want to avoid paying too much interest, it may be best to pay off the loan early if you can.

So we applied for this loan for amount of $17K to pay our CC debt consolidate. We wouldn’t need that much but we would like to make our budget more organized. We have $140K household income last year and with mortgage, cars and student loan our debt is around $400K total (not too bad for income vs debt ratio) we got approved for 15.99%!! We said NO! If not 7.99% we won’t get it. Rep was so annoying and told me that it won’t be that low but we can re-apply with in 7 days to get better rate. Credit score is 720. I really think it is not scam but false advertisement! I decided not to use their anything anymore!

The same thing happened to me last night. Approved for $10k at 17.99%. When I said ‘no thanks’ a supervisor got on the phone and offered 15.99%. With a score over 750, good income etc., I was expecting a lower rate. They are persistent and said they would give me time to think about it. I’m passing.

discover personal loans is totally scam. There high school loan officer just practicing on you credit. Mr james don’t know how many days in February month he think all month has 30 days only. Totally inexperienced people. He have 4 excuses on my loan. They pull my credit report 2 times in 4 weeks.
1. invitation expire
My answer – no because I call 800 # 2 days before invitation expire, I gave him couple of examples. After that he is say ya invitation not expire.

2. Application expire – now he told me your application expire because its 30 day in process.
Ans- its not 30 days even today’s is last day,no body told me in starting,no body contact me no letters how can its expire and if you know it’s expire why you pull my credit report again.he say I don’t know before just find that. He don’t have any experience. I say it’s 29th day how to application expire. After that he say ya it’s ok but your invitation is expire.

It’s short cut story -loan application with 2year tax return (sent by fax)

3 invitation expire- again he say invitation expire. I say you just told me invitation is ok, he say ya not invitation applications is expire. You told me application expires in 1 month how to my application expire in 29th day.
4.now he say invitation expire. Oh god he just reading on computer screen same words .
Now I wanna talk with manger or supervisor
He transfer after 8min hold he say my supervisor looking your file he contact you
He say nothing about any expiration all good
We contact you in 2-3 days
Now same thing got letter not approve
I think because I don’t have any missing payment in last 10 year
I don’t have any bad credit history
Good income no job lose history
No late house payments
And caring all another related good things
Not fair, see how discover helping a build American economy

same thing happen here, they send me an invitation, and funny thing is I am so confidence asking for the best rate, but they rejected me because this following reason:
*I have a low risk credit
*never miss any payment on my history
*only using 9% of my credit limit
*for having excellent credit score (734)
*never late on my payment
*a good self employment income..
a good lesson for me next time not to wasting my time for crap like this…

Memo: just because you have a high credit score doesn’t mean you are guaranteed a low interest rate on a loan. Work history, income and current debt profile also play a role. That doesn’t mean Discover is a scam, it means they give out credit based on a comprehensive risk profile.

I applied online. When they did a followup phone call and asked me what I wanted to do with the $23K, I said refinance a loan. When they asked the current credit rate I was paying I told them (it was 9.75%). Then I added “If you can’t give me the 7.99%, I don’t want the loan.” They approved it. I think you need to be in a position to walk away to get the lowest rate. They probably think you’ll take anything 1-3% lower than what you are currently paying. Perhaps counter-offer if they don’t go as low as you expect to get a better deal. FYI..My credit score is over 750.

I had the same experience like others mentioned. They sent me an offer letter for 7.99%, but when I applied online they told me to call the 800 number and gave me 11.99%. I was surprised to get that offer since I have excellent credit score, which I believe was 780 at the time of application. It’s true that they charge only interest in the beginning and even if you pay more in the principle they would extend your next payment for a few months so that they can charge interest during that period. In my opinion, it might not be a scam, but at the same time not a very good option because of payment extension and charging interest for that period with no payment option. Personally, I would not recommend for borrowing this loan as you will be trapped with interest only payment in the beginning. In my view, most of the financial organizations have corrupt practices of similar as mentioned here or other types. But, when they get caught by our government, they end up paying millions to billions in penalties. The government should look into the salaries of the CEOs and other higher ups who make > million dollars per year from our hard earned money by using these type of promotions and schemes.

I think they bill the interest up front, I came here trying to understand it better. I have 3 payments of 400 and they have taken out 500 in interest already. You dont have to get auto pay, but they offer less APR for it.

I would bet that the best interest rates are at the lower duration..which might be overstating the obvious. Also, a 25 yr old with $13k debt vs a $45 yr old with same would also be viewed differently. However, 25 yr old male vs 25 yr old female or comparison at any age would be very interesting.

What alot of people don’t realize is that Discover takes into account, your overall debt to income ratio. To be approved for the loan. You can’t make 30*k a yr then have 25*k in debt and expect to be approved at the lowest rate if you don’t plan on consolidatiting that debt. It would be too much risk for the firm. This is just my personal opinion from years of working in the finance industry. I applied and wasn’t approved but understood the reason why before the rep even told me the answer. It was a long shot but I wanted a personal loan to pay off my doctors bills.

I have about 13,000 in Credit Card Debt ranging from 11-21%. Discover offered me a loan at 15.99% for 72 Months . I had a loan with Citifinancial (OneMain) but the interest was at 18% for 5 years, but I paid it off early by making on time payments and putting a little extra on it when I could. Do you feel that this would be a good idea for me. I have tried the balance tranfer thing but, I did feel as if I made enough progress with debt reduction using these. I quess my question is do you think over all the loan would be a good idea?

Friends

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